FORT COLLINS — Colorado State has a secret weapon going into Saturday’s game against Utah State.
Or does Utah State?
CSU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin, you see, was Utah State’s offensive coordinator a season ago. He therefore has knowledge of what the Aggies do offensively, even if they have a new coordinator. His biggest insight should be regarding personnel, knowing the strengths and weakness of Utah State’s players, most notably do-everything sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton.
And yet, Utah State coaches will undoubtedly recognize a few things Colorado State’s offense runs as well, although CSU’s head coach, Jim McElwain, is a former offensive coordinator and has his fingerprints on much of what the Rams run.
Whether this inside knowledge helps either team is debatable. Both coaches dismissed the notion that either team has an advantage.
“I don’t think they can use it against us, and I don’t think we can use it against them,” McElwain said. “I looked, and they are running a lot of the same formations, a lot of the same things — because, I think, they were pretty successful with that quarterback when Dave was there. So, I’m sure there’s some carry-over. Now, anytime you have a different guy calling the plays, they have a different thought process, so obviously there’s going to be some things that change up. I don’t think that there’s an advantage one way or another. But I know this: I’m really happy that Coach Baldwin is here with us.”
Baldwin ran a ball-control offense with pops of flair last season at Utah State. Keeton was a freshman, so Baldwin didn’t want to heap the responsibility of carrying the team. The Aggies also had a bruiser of a running back, Robert Turbin, now with the Seattle Seahawks.
“I think people put more into that than it is,” Utah State coach Gary Andersen said on the Western Athletic Conference coaches teleconference. “Dave’s a good coach, and he’s going to put his guys in position to be successful. I know that.”
Christopher Dempsey: 303-954-1279, cdempsey@denverpost.com or
